SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to rival Thunderbolt speeds in 2014
The newest version of the ubiquitous universal serial bus protocol is primed to get a performance boost in 2014, with data transfer speeds doubling to 10 gigabits per second while maintaining backwards compatibility with the huge existing USB ecosystem.
In an announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday (via Cnet), the USB 3.0 Promoter Group said consumers will be able to take advantage of the increased speeds in 2014 after the updated specification is completed later this year. Wider availability of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 devices will appear in 2015.
The group, consisting of Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft, Renesas Electronics, ST-Ericsson, and Texas Instruments, is pushing the new spec as an alternative to the high-speed Thunderbolt interface that hasn't seen widespread adoption beyond Apple's Mac lineup. With the speed bump, USB 3.0 will be encroaching on Thunderbolt's territory with support for external devices that require high-speed data rates like SSDs and secondary monitors.
In addition to the speed bump, the new specification could bring tweaks to power delivery that will allow for faster device charging and may have enough power to run laptop PCs.
Like the Thunderbolt protocol, USB 3.0 users may need to buy all-new cables to take advantage of the higher data rates when products start hitting store shelves next year. While current SuperSpeed cables are not certified to be interoperable with the upgraded 10Gbps controllers, the group said "it is possible" that the interconnects will be compatible.
Computer manufacturers will also have to build in new controller hardware once the protocol is standardized later this year, meaning consumers will need to buy all-new hardware if they want to see boosted speeds.
While currently viewed as a niche product, Thunderbolt does have advantages over SuperSpeed, including dual 10Gbps channels, the ability to daisy-chain devices for faster throughput and long cable runs. Most recently, Corning announced it would be releasing new fiber optic products in 2013 suitable for use as Thunderbolt cables, which can theoretically be used to operate devices some 100 feet away.
Intel is also researching ways to bring faster versions of the Thunderbolt protocol to market, though no timeline for the updates has been announced.
In an announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday (via Cnet), the USB 3.0 Promoter Group said consumers will be able to take advantage of the increased speeds in 2014 after the updated specification is completed later this year. Wider availability of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 devices will appear in 2015.
The group, consisting of Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft, Renesas Electronics, ST-Ericsson, and Texas Instruments, is pushing the new spec as an alternative to the high-speed Thunderbolt interface that hasn't seen widespread adoption beyond Apple's Mac lineup. With the speed bump, USB 3.0 will be encroaching on Thunderbolt's territory with support for external devices that require high-speed data rates like SSDs and secondary monitors.
In addition to the speed bump, the new specification could bring tweaks to power delivery that will allow for faster device charging and may have enough power to run laptop PCs.
Like the Thunderbolt protocol, USB 3.0 users may need to buy all-new cables to take advantage of the higher data rates when products start hitting store shelves next year. While current SuperSpeed cables are not certified to be interoperable with the upgraded 10Gbps controllers, the group said "it is possible" that the interconnects will be compatible.
Computer manufacturers will also have to build in new controller hardware once the protocol is standardized later this year, meaning consumers will need to buy all-new hardware if they want to see boosted speeds.
While currently viewed as a niche product, Thunderbolt does have advantages over SuperSpeed, including dual 10Gbps channels, the ability to daisy-chain devices for faster throughput and long cable runs. Most recently, Corning announced it would be releasing new fiber optic products in 2013 suitable for use as Thunderbolt cables, which can theoretically be used to operate devices some 100 feet away.
Intel is also researching ways to bring faster versions of the Thunderbolt protocol to market, though no timeline for the updates has been announced.
Comments
Makes sense, since that's the same time frame as the Haswell rollout. Somehow I doubt Apple products will be carrying the upgraded spec anytime soon, though. What would be the point of TB, which remains impossible to find/prohibitively expensive, aside from a handful of LaCie drives and their own Cinema display?
Quote:
Originally Posted by genovelle
Everyone complains about the cost but jumps up and down cheering the Video only HDMI ports with their expensive cables being on Devices.
$3.99 off Amazon/$2.50 off Monoprice is "expensive?" ....k How much do TB cables cost, again?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adrayven
It should read.. USB 3.0 to rival OLD 10GB thunderbolt spec in 2014, TB to be 100GB in 2013!
Keep in mind that ThunderBolt is 10Gbs each direction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adrayven
It should read.. USB 3.0 to rival OLD 10GB thunderbolt spec in 2014, TB to be 100GB in 2013!
USB is pathetic (speed). Even USB 3 never manages 1gb/s...
I would expect this faster USB to require the same signal conditioning chips that are necessary for Thunderbolt to achieve its blistering speeds. Those will likely make these new USB cables expensive as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by genovelle
The Article is slightly slanted. Notice it will match TB a year from now with 10 GBs. The never say it's dual channel but mentions this regarding the TB.
Agreed. USB is processor dependent thunderbolt is not. USB Superspeed is 10GB's total in and out. Thunderbolt is 10GB out and in simultaneous (two channel can output/input at the same time at 10GBs both ways). Also intel invented both. Thunderbolt is in its first incarnation, the second is about to be released with even faster speed simultaneous in and out. Slated for early 2014 is the release of the 20GBs Thunderbolt controllers. Thats dual channel 20GB.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cash907
$3.99 off Amazon/$2.50 off Monoprice is "expensive?" ....k How much do TB cables cost, again?
hdmi cables and usb cables dont have microprocessors in them, to adjust for the inefficiencies of the copper cable itself do they. Hence the reason for the extra cost. Also thunderbolt cables actually have firmware lol. They can actually be firmware upgraded.
The cables your comparing to thunderbolt is just a piece of wire not a firmware flash-able micro computer at each end.
But that's just so Apple can control what cables can be used with an authentication chip¡
Thunderbolt is history already. It certainly has advantages over USB 3.0 for select professional applications, but the industry caters to the masses, not the pros. USB 3.0 is "good enough" at a fraction of the cost of TB.
TB disadvantages are manifold:
1. Prohibitive cost to adapt: it's not backwards compatible, so adopters must buy all new peripherals. Peripherals are vastly more expensive than USB 3.0 peripherals due to the need for a TB controller. Want to daisy chain 3 peripherals together? That will $150 in cables alone, lol.
2. Lack of superiority. TB is faster than USB 3.0, but how much more does it really enable? External video card? Even after spending a MINIMUM of $600 for a TB video card, the thing is limited to x4 PCIe lanes. FAIL.
3. No future price reductions. TB requires four ICs on each end of a cable - that's a lot of silicon for a freakin' cable. The next advance will reduce it to two ICs on each end of a cable, which is still far more complex than a passive interface cable like USB 3.0. TB cables will be cheaper, but not significantly, and nowhere near as cheap as USB 3.0 cables.
4. Intel. They may have helped develop TB, but they sure as hell aren't interested in adding $25 to the cost of every motherboard, so it's not a standard inclusion on PCs. Apple didn't help matters by insisting that it be exclusive to Apple computers for one year. It's almost like someone at Apple didn't want TB to succeed - or more likely they have the cranial-rectal syndrome that is so prevalent in Apple's design department.
5. Connect a DisplayPort display to a Mini. Ooops, no more TB. Only way to get TB is to buy a display that can daisy chain TB, in other words, waste many hundreds of dollars on an Apple display. DUHHH!!! This is reminiscent of the ADC connector debacle at Apple. Buy an Apple display....or else! Except when people choose "or else", they just buy USB 3.0 peripherals instead of TB, resulting in lower adoption of TB. Apple shoots self in foot again.
You are talking about Lightning. Thunderbolt cable chips are needed to manage power, regulate signals for the high speed connection over the copper cable. There is no authentication chip.
Thunderbolt is more for professional market. Intel will always update it to maintain a meaningful speed advantage over USB. I'd be willing to pay for a 3-4x higher performance given the price premium.
Apple laptops have USB port(s) for the regular devices anyway.
And Thunderbolt will be moving to 40Gbps in 2014..... or possibly 100Gbps.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mechanic
hdmi cables and usb cables dont have microprocessors in them, to adjust for the inefficiencies of the copper cable itself do they. Hence the reason for the extra cost. Also thunderbolt cables actually have firmware lol. They can actually be firmware upgraded.
The cables your comparing to thunderbolt is just a piece of wire not a firmware flash-able micro computer at each end.
I was comparing cost, not contents. Anyone who considers two dollars and fifty cents to be "expensive" obviously is not part of Apple's target demo.